'90s nostalgia shines in Under the Gun tour

That means it’s time to frost those tips, dust off that Hypercolor shirt and get ready for some pop rock fun. The Under the Sun tour, featuring Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, Uncle Kracker and Blues Traveler, comes to Harrah’s Resort Southern California on Saturday and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath said the time had come for the ’90s to come back and shine.

“The nostalgia trips usually need about 15 years to marinate and we’ve certainly hit that period,” he said.

In addition to Sugar Ray’s smash hits “Fly” and “Every Morning,” Smash Mouth hit big with “Walking on the Sun,” Uncle Kracker’s most notable tune was “Follow Me” and Blues Traveler was a radio regular with John Popper’s harmonica and megahit “Run-Around.”

“It’s the power of numbers and hits, when you look at the bands and the wealth of material and hits these bands had,” McGrath said. “This is my third year of doing Under the Sun. At the time when I was doing it, no one was doing the ’90s sort of decade tour. Of course there was the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s tours. The Turtles are still out there doing their ’60s tour revue.”

Combined, the four acts have 10 top-20 hit songs. And that is the entire point of the tour.

“The idea behind Under the Sun is all hits, all the time,” McGrath said. “We just keep hitting people with the hits. I’ve told all the bands that I don’t want to hear your new (stuff). I love you guys, God bless you, but if I don’t hear that new (stuff) on the radio right now I don’t want it.”

When it comes down to it, the tour is a romanticized version of what people think of the ’90s: people rocking out and having fun.

“Everyone shares this same vibe,” McGrath said. “Let’s celebrate this music that we all love so much. I tell people if you hate big, giant hits of the ’90s, please don’t come to this tour because we have nothing for you. If you do, we have the best night out for you.”